Q: I like my earbuds, but my boyfriend insists I need to spend $200 on headphones to get good sound. I can’t see how that could possibly be true. Who’s right?

A: In my experience, expensive headphones do generally sound better than cheap earbuds—but only in quiet environments. Out in the real world, with cars whizzing past or air-conditioning units humming, both solutions sound pretty much the same: tinny and thin. (This assumes...